a guide to reading Dream of the Red Chamber First of all, I would recommend that you should learn Chinese.that's it ,or you won't fall in love with this great novel like other Chinese.when you finished learning Chinese characters and have no obstacles for reading ,you can go on with a Chinese friend who is interested in this book ,too. At that time,you can feel how beautiful the greatest novel is,and congratulations. Because I've heard there is no reasonable translation in English,for the book was unfinished and there are too many metaphors in Chinese characters which foreigners cannot understand. And now you will know how difficult for me to understand Cien anos de soledad.